U.S. Secures 300 Million Doses Of Potential COVID-19 Vaccine

By Bill GalluccioMay 22, 2020

The United States has secured 300 million doses of a potential vaccine for COVID-19 after striking a deal with British drugmaker AstraZeneca. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will give the company $1.2 billion to help fund research on the vaccine and will allow the company to conduct the third phase of clinical trials in the U.S.

"This contract with AstraZeneca is a major milestone in Operation Warp Speed's work toward a safe, effective, widely available vaccine by 2021," U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar said.

The vaccine is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United Kingdom. They have given the vaccine to about 1,000 volunteers and are looking for about 10,000 people for the next phase. They are focusing recruitment on front-line workers and people who are likely to be exposed to the virus to ensure they get enough data to determine if the vaccine is effective.